Monday, July 23, 2007

Per http://nbcsports.com/, Colorado Rockies minor league coach Mike Coolbaugh was killed after being struck in the head by a line drive in the 9th inning of Sunday's game, as his Tulsa Drillers played the Arkansas Travelers. Coolbaugh was coaching first base when Travelers player Tino Sanchez hit a line drive that struck Coolbaugh in the side of the head/forehead, and he immediately collapsed. Initial reports have Coolbaugh alive when he was placed into the ambulance, but on the way to the hospital he may have stopped breathing.

Any way you look at this, this is one of the worst things I've ever heard. Scott Coolbaugh played 167 major league games over four seasons with Texas, the SD Padres, and St. Louis in the early 1990s. He joined the Drillers coaching staff on July 3rd, in an effort to fine tune the players' skills.

The Win Column sends its condolences to the family, friends, and teammates of Coolbaugh. This sort of tragedy pretty much puts everything in perspective. Baseball is a game. Imagine how awful Tino Sanchez must feel. How will that guy ever lace up his cleats and step into the batters box again?